by Tricia Barr
“Thank you for the drink,” she said.
He nodded. “Perhaps you could tell me your name in return.”
“Scarlett,” she said. “What’s yours?”
“Darian,” he said. “Pleasure to meet a real woman in this town.”
“A real woman?” she asked, putting her hands on her hips. “What does that mean?”
“You drink whiskey,” he said admiringly. “Every other girl in here is drinking a cocktail. You can tell a lot about a girl by the kind of drink she prefers.”
“Oh please, do tell,” she invited, amused.
“Well, a cocktail says that a girl just wants to be taken care of, and she doesn’t like to get her hands dirty. A martini says that a girl will do anything for appearances, because seriously, who actually enjoys the taste of a martini?” She laughed at that. “A gin and tonic says that a girl is dry and boring and sometimes a little bitter. But a whiskey, like a scotch, says that a girl isn’t afraid of anything, that she enjoys the simple things in life, and she isn’t afraid to take care of business.”
“I see,” she said, smiling with humor. “So you actually like independent women?”
“Absolutely,” he said. “I’ll take a woman I can have an actual conversation with any day over arm candy.”
“How did you know I drink whiskey?” she asked.
“I didn’t,” he said. “It was a test of character and you passed. Therefore, I must ask you to dance.”
She had to admit, this was already the most interesting and entertaining conversation she ever had with a customer here before. The only things men usually talked to her about were how beautiful she was, or what Wall Street was doing—and oh, she couldn’t possibly understand any of it so they will explain it to her as simply as possible—or how much they hate their wives and no one would ever know if she spent the night with one of them.
“All right, I’ll dance with you,” she said. She stepped out from behind the bar, gave him her hand, and let him lead her to the floor, where they danced to a jazzy new swing song the band was playing.
The scene of the dream changed.
They were in her bed in her small apartment, naked and covered by her satin sheets, heads propped up on bent arms and facing each other. The window was open, a breeze caused her sheer curtains to lift and waft, and silvery moonlight poured in.
They lived together for months. Darian left the mob and worked at the bar as the new piano player. They were together all the time, dancing and drinking during breaks, staying late to clean the bar together because they kept stopping to kiss or tease each other. She couldn’t remember a time when she was so happy. Life was perfect.
“There’s something I want to ask you,” he said. “That night we met in the bar, I just knew you were someone special. I want every night to be just like this for the rest of my life. Will you marry me?”
Her heart leapt. “Yes! Darian, yes!” she exclaimed, throwing her arms around him.
“As soon as I get the money, I’ll buy you the ring you deserve,” he said.
“I don’t need a ring, I just need you.” She kissed him.
Suddenly, there was loud banging on the door. Scarlett and Darian turned towards the sound, startled and wondering who banged so fervently. They slipped out of bed and quickly put on enough clothes to cover themselves, then Darian went to answer the door. Before he was halfway there, a gun shot went off and blew a large hole where the handle used to be.
Darian stumble-ran backwards to the other side of the bed where Scarlett was and grabbed her.
“Come on, we have to go!” he said, pulling her toward the open window.
They climbed down the fire escape before the intruders could kick open the door to find them.
The scene changed once more.
She stood in a tiny church, wearing a simple white lace dress. She saw everything through a patterned, white lace veil. Darian, dressed in a snazzy tuxedo, stood across from her, a mixture of happiness and anxiety on his face. She was anxious too. They didn’t have very long to stay here. They had been on the run for a long time and, though they wished for this occasion to be grander and for their family members to be present, neither of them could be happier that they were finally going to be wed. Eloping was better than nothing at all, and they didn’t want to wait anymore.
“Dearly beloved,” the elderly priest began, “we are here today to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony…”
The priest went on with the sermon as Scarlett and Darian stared at each other lovingly, both of them bouncing on the balls of their feet.
“Do you, Darian, take Scarlett to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live?” the priest asked Darian.
“I do,” he vowed.
“Do you, Scarlett, take Darian to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live?” the priest asked Scarlett.
She smiled and said, “No, not only as long as we live but forever after that too.”
Darian chuckled. Even through the veil she saw tears in his eyes.
“I now pronounce you man and wife,” the priest said. “You may kiss the bride.”
Darian pulled her close, threw off the veil, and kissed her not at all chastely, causing the priest to clear his throat loudly and turn away. Then they ran out down the aisle and out the door, hand in hand.
****
Phoenyx opened her eyes, the dream still fresh in her mind.
What an incredibly weird dream to have right now. She had a different name in it; so had Sebastian. She felt very shocked and slightly embarrassed by the fact that she had such an intimate and girly dream about him after having only just met him. Was she really that attracted to him? Enough to dream about marrying him?
She reflected back on everything that happened in the dream. It was a fun dream, despite its weirdness. She always loved the 1920’s—at least she assumed that was the time period the dream was set in. Al Capone, why couldn’t he have made an appearance in her dream, rather than just having a mention? She wondered who those people were that had shot through the door. Too bad she couldn’t have kept dreaming to find out. Being entertained by her dreams was the only way she would get through this experience.
She peaked over at Sebastian, who was lying against the wall not too far from her. She got an inkling just then, like a sense of déjà vu. She had that dream before, hadn’t she. That was why Sebastian looked so familiar to her…
No, that couldn’t be right. Yes, she’d had parts of that dream before but the guy probably only looked like Sebastian now because she stayed up most of the night talking to him. Yeah, that was more likely. There’s no way she could have dreamt about Sebastian before meeting him. Things like that don’t happen in real life. Then again, things like someone having the ability she has don’t happen in real life either.
She shook her head, leaned back against the wall, and closed her eyes, hoping to get a bit more sleep out of what was left of the night before the others all woke up.
The sound of voices in discussion slowly brought Phoenyx out of slumber. Her face was pressed against the bars and she was fairly certain she had unattractive red lines in their place. She rubbed her eyes and sat up. Skylar, Sebastian, and Lily were talking.
“Morning, sunshine,” Sebastian greeted.
She blushed at the sight of him, then quickly got angry at herself for it and pushed those girly feelings aside.
Before she could say anything, her stomach growled loudly, making it known to everyone that she was very hungry.
“Sorry,” she said. “This feeding us once a day crap is really not working for me. On the bright side, I’ll finally lose those five pounds I promised to lose since Christmas.”
Lily laughed. “How do you do that?” she asked. “You just have a way of making every terrible thing seem not so bad.”
&nb
sp; Phoenyx shrugged. “I don’t know, force of habit, I guess.”
“Well, I really appreciate it.” Lily smiled and Phoenyx smiled back.
“So, what were you guys talking about?” Phoenyx asked.
“Just trying to find a connection we all have,” Skylar said. “We really aren’t linked in any way. Do either of you have any enemies?”
Lily shook her head and Phoenyx said, “Not that I know of.”
“You don’t owe anyone money? Maybe your parents do?” Skylar pressed.
“Well, maybe the university,” Lily answered. “But I don’t think that counts.”
“I’m sure we have credit card debt but not in any copious amounts,” Phoenyx replied.
“Maybe we’re being Punk’d,” Sebastian said, causing Skylar to sigh and roll his eyes.
“No way! That’s exactly what I said our first day in here,” Phoenyx said excitedly.
Sebastian laughed.
“Hey, what do you know, Sebastian?” Skylar said, “A girl who actually gets you. Better keep this one locked up.”
Sebastian smirked. “My God, Skylar, was that actually a joke?”
Skylar laughed a short laugh. “Anyway, what on Earth could we possibly all have in common? What is the link?”
Suddenly, Lily rushed to the toilet and threw up, stopping all conversation and forcing everyone’s eyes to her. She was very pale and her hands were shaking on the rim of the toilet seat.
“Oh, my God, are you okay?” Phoenyx asked fretfully.
Lily coughed a few times and spat into the toilet before wiping her mouth. “I’m sorry. I think I’m just freaking out a little bit.” Her voice was weak and wavering.
Phoenyx was really getting worried about Lily. They hadn’t had much food the three days they’ve been in here, and Lily just threw up all the food she did have. If they don’t start getting more food, or if Lily couldn’t find some way to relax and keep further food down, being trapped in here won’t be the only thing they’ll have to worry about. Her health could quickly and easily drop in these conditions.
As if on cue, the door opened and the bald man tossed two bags into the room before closing it again. For just a brief second, she noticed a large ring on the middle finger of the hand he tossed the bag with. The emblem on the ring was the exact same design she saw on the pin that guy at the bar wore,the square with the different colored boxes in each corner. Well, in case there was any doubt in her mind that he was involved, she was sure now. Whatever they were doing in this cell had something to do with that symbol.
She crawled forward and pulled the bags through the bars. She took a water bottle out of one and crawled over to Lily.
“Here, you need to drink some of this, sweetie,” she said.
Lily sat down and took the bottle with her trembling hands.
Unable to bear seeing Lily so tightly wound, Phoenyx did the only thing that was in her power to do. She put her hand on Lily’s arm and, as gently as she could, let her will flow through her hand as she said, “Everything is going to be fine. You’re going to drink that water and feel so much better. That burger is going to taste so good.”
Almost instantly, color came back to Lily’s face—her cheeks became beautifully rosy again and the tension in her posture released.
“Okay,” Lily said. She took a sip of the water, then chugged it. When the bottle was empty, she said, “You were right; I feel much better.”
Sebastian grabbed their doggy bag but Skylar kept staring at Phoenyx, narrowing his eyes in thoughtful scrutiny.
“What?” Phoenyx asked, feeling awkward under his gaze.
As if caught off-guard, Skylar blinked and slightly shook his head. “Nothing,” he said and turned to take his share of the bag from Sebastian.
They ate in silence—all of them, or at least Phoenyx, very hungry. Lily was eating her burger just fine. That made Phoenyx so relieved. That didn’t mean she could relax just yet; she would have to keep an eye on her and make sure Lily stayed healthy. But for how long?
“I think I know what it is we all have in common,” Skylar said, catching all of their attention.
“Oh yeah, what’s that?” Sebastian asked mid chew, mostly uninterested in anything but his burger.
Skylar put aside his burger and leaned in toward the bars separating them.
“What you just did to Lily, you’ve been able to do that your whole life—to anyone, haven’t you.” He said this to Phoenyx as a statement and not a question.
At the mention of her name, Lily turned to Phoenyx with a question in her eyes.
Phoenyx’s heart thudded in her chest.
“What are you talking about?” she asked, trying to keep her voice steady.
“It’s okay,” he said. “I’m not judging you or accusing you of anything. You don’t have to be defensive about your gift.”
It was perfectly clear that Skylar knew exactly what she could do. Oh God, she felt like such a freak!
“H-how do you know?” she stuttered.
Hearing the fret in Phoenyx’s voice drew Sebastian’s attention away from his burger and to both the girls. Now she had everyone’s eyes on her.
“Because,” Skylar said. “I have a gift too.”
Just then, the empty water bottle on the floor to Skylar’s right lifted into the air by itself. Phoenyx held her breath and her eyes widened at the sight.
“Skylar, what are you doing?” Sebastian burst out, and he smacked the bottle, causing Skylar to lose his hold over it and sending it crashing to the floor.
“It’s all right,” Skylar said calmly to Sebastian. “They are just like us. They, too, have secrets.”
Phoenyx was paralyzed, trying to process what she just saw and what they were saying. Her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her when she saw that bottle levitate. Her hunger wasn’t making her delusional. Skylar somehow made that bottle move—with his mind.
They are just like us. They, too, have secrets. What did that mean? Does Sebastian have some kind of freaky ability, too? Does Lily? How did Skylar know about me? How could he know I compelled Lily to feel better?
“I’m also a telepath,” Skylar said to both girls. “I hear everything you’re both thinking.”
Phoenyx felt all of her self-conscious blood drain from her face. He can hear everything I’m thinking? Wait, prove it. What number am I thinking of right now? Nine.
“Nine,” he said, pointing to Phoenyx. “And purple,” he said, pointing to Lily.
Phoenyx and Lily gasped in sync.
Phoenyx felt incredibly self-aware now. It was true. Skylar really could read her mind. Every thought she had would not be private as long as she was in this cell with him next door. Her mind might as well be a damn television screen! She felt completely naked.
“Wait, so you’re telling me that both of them have some kind of gift?” Sebastian asked. “What’s hers?” He nodded to Phoenyx.
She felt like she was on display.
“Yeah,” Lily said, still obviously self-conscious herself. “What did you mean when you said, ‘what you did to Lily’? What did she do?”
Rather than let Skylar answer and leave Lily feeling violated somehow, Phoenyx figured she might as well explain.
“I can make people do, feel, or say things just by touching them,” she confessed, squinting as if the words were physically hard to get out. She turned to Lily. “I couldn’t bear to see you so panicked and you can’t afford to throw up with how little they’re feeding us, so I made you feel better. I had to.”
Lily half-pouted and half-smiled. “I thought I felt something…odd. Odd but in a really good way. Thank you. I really needed something to help me calm down.”
Phoenyx exhaled and smiled, so relieved that Lily didn’t hate her or fear her for what she could do.
“Interesting,” Sebastian said, looking smug. “Do it to me. Make me do something.”
She raised an eyebrow at him. “Really?”
“Yeah, yeah, come on.” He wa
s smiling away.
She hesitated as several slightly humiliating possibilities passed through her mind.
“Yeah, go ahead, make him do something,” Skylar said, amused.
Phoenyx could tell he liked what he saw in her thoughts.
Thinking of something she would rather make Sebastian do, she said, “All right,” and stuck her hand through the bars. “Give me your hand, Sebastian.”
He eagerly came over and put his hand in hers. At the same time Skylar backed away and said, “No, no—not that!”
Putting an extra sensual vibe to it, she pushed her will and said, “Sebastian, I would really like it…if you would give Skylar a big, fat kiss.”
Warm color spread over Sebastian’s face and he said happily, “Okay!” Then he turned in Skylar’s direction, grabbed his face despite Skylar’s protestation and hand smacking, and pulled him to plant one right on Skylar’s mouth.
Skylar forcefully shoved Sebastian away, then glared daggers at Phoenyx, whose raucous laughter was chorused by Lily’s.
“Not cool,” Skylar shouted, aggressively pointing his index finger at her.
Sebastian eagerly smiled at Phoenyx.
“That was amazing,” he said in a kid’s-first-time-to-Disneyland sort of way. “Oddly enough, I have never felt more turned on.”
Skylar made a very disgusted face and a guttural gagging sound.
“Oh, don’t flatter yourself,” Sebastian said to Skylar. Then to Phoenyx he said, “I mean, from your touch, I felt…totally enamored, I guess would be the right word for it. In that moment, I was completely willing to do anything you asked.”
“Actually, I felt oddly turned on also, despite the icky stomach pain,” Lily admitted. “For a moment I almost thought I was going lesbian.”
Phoenyx laughed, feeling much more comfortable now. “I don’t know why it is but there’s always a sensual sort of feel to it. When doing it, I feel this very carnal feeling it in my gut. I think that somehow gets transferred to the person I’m compelling. I really don’t get how it works, but it does.”
